Sony Executive Confirms When Marvel’s Madame Web Will Start Filming

Sony’s universe of Marvel characters is continuing to evolve, with some unexpected and lesser-known characters getting the spotlight in their own solo films. Among them is Madame Web, a film that will star Dakota Johnson as the Marvel character. Updates surrounding the project have ramped up in recent months, but there’s still been the question of exactly when it will start filming, especially with its recently-announced 2023 release date. According to new comments from Sony’s Motion Picture Group chairman Tom Rothman, Madame Web will begin filming “in the spring.”

“Then there are movies I would call adjunct to the Spider-Man universe,” Rothman said of Sony’s Marvel plans (via Deadline). “That’s Kraven, which we’re shooting now, and Madame Web, which we’ll start in the spring with S.J. Clarkson directing. And then there are many Marvel characters that are standalone.”

Madame Web will star Johnson as the titular character, although it is unclear at this point if she is playing the original character, Cassandra Webb, or her successor, a young woman named Julia Carpenter. Just before Cassandra died in the comics, Julia was bestowed with her powers and her blindness, and utilized them to help other Spider-related heroes. The Madame Web film will be directed by Jessica Jones alum S.J. Clarkson, and will also star Sydney Sweeney in a currently-unknown role. The movie has been in the works since 2019, with Morbius writers Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama penning the script. 

“I’ve been ordering a bunch of comic books,” Sweeney explained in a recent interview with Variety. “There’s a lot to learn. I’ve always been a really big fan of all the Marvel and Sony Universe movies. I’ve grown up watching them all and I’ve been engulfed in the entire world my entire life, so being able to be a part of that is such an incredible, incredible thing.”

The project is one of several Sony Marvel movies in the works, alongside Kraven the Hunter, Venom 3, and additional MCU-set movies centered around Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.

“I think the two studios have worked that out, and I don’t think that that will be a problem in the future,” Holland explained in an interview late last year. “That said, I’m just the actor and I was a part of a few phone calls during that process, but I think they love working with each other, I think they found a way in which it can be beneficial for both studios, and I’m just kind of like a kid in the middle of it, between two parents during an argument.”

Are you excited for Sony’s Madame Web movie? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!